Chelsea seek Mutu compensation

Chelsea are taking Juventus in front of a FIFA panel this week as part of their bid to claim millions of pounds in compensation for former Blues striker Adrian Mutu.

Romania international Mutu was sacked by Chelsea in 2004 after testing positive for cocaine, and the Blues been trying ever since to reclaim the £15.8 million fee they paid for him to join from Parma the previous year.

The FA handed Mutu a seven-month suspension, after which he joined Juve via an intermediary ownership arrangement with Livorno.

In 2009, the Court of Arbitration for Sport ordered that Mutu - who by then had joined Fiorentina - should pay Chelsea £14.65 million, but the 34-year-old is yet to pay. Chelsea are now seeking compensation from Juventus and Livorno on the basis that they benefited from his sacking by signing him for nothing and then selling him to Fiorentina for £6 million.

"We are exercising our legal remedies to recover the amounts owed to us and we will continue to do so," a Chelsea spokesman said of the case, which is being held before FIFA's dispute resolution chamber in Zurich. The club has also taken legal action in order to claim three properties owned by Mutu in Miami.

Mutu currently plays for Corsican club Ajaccio, who are currently battling against relegation from France's Ligue 1.